George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message news:<qv1i70dh0hd1133ruqpbgk3utbtmf1usi8@4ax.com>. ..
> On 10 Apr 2004 16:31:17 -0700, adrew@frontiernet.net (Adam Drew) wrote:
>
> >Hey, y'all.
> >
> >I was at the dealer this morning getting an oil change/tire rotation
> >when they called me and said that both of my lower ball joints were
> >blown, there was grease all over the inside of both front rims, and
> >that I should come in Monday to get it fixed.
> >
> >It only has about 9000 miles on it. I drive pretty gently and don't
> >drag race or go mud boggin' or anyhting like that. Most of the miles
> >are interstate.
> >
> >Any ideas what could've caused BOTH of 'em to go? I've never had ANY
> >suspension problems on my old cars, and neither has anyone in my
> >family.
>
> Is this a U.S. Civic Si - made in Swindon England? Gawd, I hope it's not a
> sign of English car disease. I thought Honda was on top of the U.K. OE
> suppliers but maybe not - this was typical of quality issues back in the
> bad old days, when Rubery Owen supplied the U.K car industry with atrocious
> junk. What does "blown" mean?... rubber boot tore open or came off?
>
> AFAICT from the parts list here http://tinyurl.com/36ggw the ball joint is
> not a separate part from the knuckle assembly so you want to be sure what
> "fixed" means. If the boots are busted there's dirt & water in the ball
> joint so you don't want just a new boot fitted.

Thanks for writing back. Yeah, it's a UK-built, US-market Si
hatchback. Apart from this issue, I have no complaints about it at
all--seems very well built.

I believe the tech's actual words were that they had both "collapsed."
I'm really pretty ignorant regarding suspension components, never
having had to work on them before. I took the wheel off when I got
home and didn't really see anything that looked out of the
ordinary....just a lot of grease everywhere--especially all over the
rims and brake caliper.

Would you mind checking out a few pictures if I post them online?

Thanks,
Adam